What Jarren Duran said of trade rumors, reps at DH with Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

“My parents look at it enough for me. So they text me and go, ‘Did you get traded?'”

Something’s got to give with the Red Sox’s outfield logjam. 

Boston has four legitimate impact talents in the outfield — Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and Jarren Duran — but only three starting spots available.

Barring injuries, a skilled part of that quartet will likely be relegated to reps at DH in 2026 — and that’s without factoring in other players like Masataka Yoshida or Triston Casas who could be fighting for those same at-bats. 

Duran, who is both the oldest player among those four players (29 years old) and likely boasts the lowest upside defensively, could be the odd man out. 

It’s more a testament to the rest of the talent around him that Duran — who posted a plus-11 defensive runs saved in 2025 — might still be the one bumped out of the outfield. 

Speaking to reporters on Monday at Fort Myers, Duran said the topic of being the team’s primary DH hasn’t been broached to him so far.

“I haven’t heard anything like that,” Duran said of moving to DH. “So I don’t know. But whatever they need me to do, I’m gonna do. I haven’t heard any talks like that, but wherever AC [Alex Cora] and the front office needs me, I’m gonna go do my best job. … I’d be the fastest DH in the league, so that’s a start.” 

Duran added that playing with Rob Refsnyder — Boston’s de-facto fourth outfielder for the last few years — braced him for a scenario where his spot in the field may not be set in stone. 

“He really took me under his wing and kind of taught me how to come off the bench,” Duran said. “And I think that’s a really good approach I can take to DH’ing — try and stay busy. Look at what pitchers are throwing. Look at the sequencing and stuff like that. So I kind of owe some stuff to him for that.”

While Duran — who posted a 4.7 WAR, hit 16 home runs, and 84 RBI last season — could still offer plenty of value as a DH, the outfielder was also mentioned in several trade rumors over the offseason.

So far, Duran said that he hasn’t fretted over his name sprouting up in trade talks, although his parents might be another story. 

“I never look at that stuff,” Duran said. “My parents look at it enough for me. So they text me and go, ‘Did you get traded?’ I’m like, ‘You really think I’m not going to tell you if I get traded? Come on.’ So, no, I never give it any two cents. It’s in God’s hands and whatever happens, happens.”

“And then I kind of tell them like, ‘Hey, you don’t need to be doing that. I’m going to let you know if it happens,’” he added. “And then they kind of mellow down from there.”

Duran — who finished eighth in MVP voting in 2024 and posted a whopping 8.7 WAR — said that he’s looking forward to putting the 2025 campaign in the rearview mirror. His batting average dropped from .285 to .256, while his OPS sank from .834 to .774 in the span of a year.

“I’m always disappointed in myself,” Duran said. “I always feel like I don’t do the best that I can do. And I feel like I let the fans down sometimes or my teammates. But it’s a new year. I just gotta flush it and go out and do my thing. I come in every time and try to work my hardest. And I know that my teammates and the fans realize that I’m always working my hardest, so that’s all I can do.”